Categories

Jul 13 Ordinary

“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13 NLT)
Ordinary men…recognized as men who had been with Jesus. Fishermen, in fact, standing up and explaining to the leading religious leaders how prophesied scripture indicated that Jesus was the Messiah! Does that blow you away? I love this verse and the fact that Jesus chose ordinary men to share his life-changing message with others. It was so obvious and simple that fishermen were explaining it to the wise men of the day. The second sentence is the key – these men were recognized as men who had been with Jesus. I am not sure a higher compliment can be given. Ordinary people can do unbelievable things when they spend time with Jesus.

This week, Celia and I dropped off our kids for a week of camp and ran into a couple of ordinary people. Our friends, Mike and Julie, used to go to church with us in San Antonio. Mike has had a very successful career in starting, running and managing restaurants for a national restaurant chain. Julie has been a stay at home mom and an part-time worker in the church’s children’s ministry. They were excited to share their latest news with us.

They’re selling their nice North San Antonio home, moving from the safe neighborhood schools and buying a few lots in downtown/west San Antonio, in a pretty rough part of town known as Edgewood. Their church has been involved in weekly outreach efforts there, but Mike and Julie are moving there. We were amazed to hear their dreams for this area and this new ministry: teaching urban farming, healthy cooking classes, investing in this neighborhood and these people with their lives. They are making plans to build a home/community center that includes a place for the community to build gardens, cook inside and out, meet, for kids to be mentored and the list goes on and on and on. And we were blown away – ordinary people, just like you and me, that we recognize as people who have been with Jesus.

Have you ever had a dream you felt like the Lord had given to you? Did it seem silly, too big for you or you weren’t qualified to make it happen? Please hear from this verse about Peter and John and hear from this story about Mike and Julie that Jesus uses ordinary people. Before any excuses of how your past, present or some other circumstance excludes you from responding to a nudge, please take note that the only qualification to sharing Jesus is having spent time with Jesus. Jesus used ordinary guys like Peter and John to share His message, and that message has changed the world. I can’t wait to see what Jesus will do through our friends Mike and Julie and I can’t wait to see what he will do with you and me, too.